


Gentle Waves

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marauders, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26405359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Remus suffers from nightmares and buries himself in his studies to cope, the other three Marauders uphold their promise to take care of him.This can be interpreted in a few ways, but it was written with Wolfstar in mind. This was my first ever fic so I'm sorry for how clunky it is, just testing the waters.edit: WOW I didn't expect people to actually see this haha, thank you so much for the kudos that's so sweet Xx
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 7





	1. Candle Light

Crisp winter air crept in through the thin glass windows that were dotted around the marauder's dorm. It wasn't as cold as you would expect it to be, warmth spells made for a toasty environment that seemed to act as a blanket in and of itself, but while all the others were buried under mountains of blankets and duvets, one boy sat by candle light at the foot on his bed using a cold draft from the window to keep himself awake.

Sirius had never been a particularly light sleeper, he was either absolutely wired or completely comatose, so he had no problem with staying up into the early hours of the morning just to finish some overdue work. He had no problem working by candle light either, he had discovered quite early on that Wormtail was an exceptionally light sleeper and could be stirred from his rest by a spell as simple and lightly spoken as "Lumos". This transfiguration theory was twisting his head in knots though, and with OWLs approaching the pressure was on. He buried his head deeper into his work, furrowing his brow as his eyes ached and begged to be closed. 

A shuffle from the bed beside him sent Sirius flying back under his sheets to feint sleep, it sounded like James but he couldn't be too careful. There was a pause but Sirius remained stiff, he'd figured out where the shuffling was coming from. Eventually it started up again, but it was much more vigorous this time. it felt panicked, Sirius could practically smell the fear from two beds away. Remus. He suffered from horrific nightmares, and Sirius was the only one awake to ever see the aftermath. He would bolt up, crying and tearing at his clothes as though they were a straight jacket. Some nights he would lie perfectly still, gasping for breath as though he was paralysed, before rolling over onto his side and shivering himself to sleep. It wasn't pretty, and Sirius knew better than to approach him about it. The shuffling began to die down and Sirius's mind drifted to the bed on his left. Peter. He was a light sleeper, surely he knew about Remus's nightmares too.  
The door to their dorm creaked open and Sirius became stiff again, as soon as he heard the clunk of the metal bolt drawing closed he sat upright and re-lit his candle. Moony had left the building. He relaxed a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding in and turned back around to reach for his quill when he saw a shadowy figure standing at the foot of Peter's bed. His stomach dropped to his feet and he scrambled for his wand, illuminating the corner of the room to reveal...

"Wormtail", Sirius sighed, extinguishing his wand and sinking back down to sit on the bed.  
Peter was frozen in the corner, caught in the act of eating fossilised Bertie Botts from a near disintegrating packet that he had had no doubt found under his bed the other night during a revised game of cat and mouse: hound and rat.  
"Remus woke me up. Felt like a snack", his eyes were still as wide as dinner plates, his nose twitching with an unfortunate nervous tick he had developed after becoming an animagus. the two boys stared at each other for a little while, not really knowing what to do or say until a third voice interrupted their silence.  
"We should follow him"


	2. The Map

Sirius was thoroughly shaken up now, he'd been startled more tonight than he had the time he got lost in the forbidden forest, and on a full moon no less. Peter seemed to be suffering too, he looked damn near ready to soil himself.  
"For Merlin's sake Prongs, have some consideration for a man's disposition. I'm suffering over here."  
"I'm serious, he can't refuse our help forever he knows it doesn't work like that."   
It dawned on Sirius that he may not have been as subtle with his midnight studies as he'd thought.   
"He didn't take the map with him. We can find him, no problem." James persisted, pulling on his robe and reaching for his glasses. 

Peter still hadn't moved, although he had removed his hand from the box of beans and his expression had shifted from startled to more concerned.   
"What if he doesn't want our help with this though? What if we can't help him?" The portly boy shifted his gaze from the door to James, and back to the door again.  
"Yeah, good point Wormtail. What can we do to help nightmares? I don't know about you but having a rat, a hound, and a bloody stag climb into bed with me wouldn't exactly make me feel like I'm floating on a bed of clouds." Sirius exclaimed.  
James gave him a look, enhanced by his monstrous bed head.  
"This isn't about stopping his nightmares, it's about helping with the aftermath. Think about it, he goes through hell in his sleep and wakes up alone. He's probably gone to the library to work himself into oblivion." James pulled out the map, scanning for Remus with half-open eyes. After a short while, he gave a satisfied nod and closed it again. "You need to finish your work anyway, Padfoot, why don't we pay him a visit?"

Sirius felt heavy, he looked over to see Peter pull his robe on and stuff his disgusting bean box into a pocket. He grimaced and turned back to James.  
"Fine. But if he gets mad it's your fault and your fault alone."  
The three stood up and creeped out of the room as they'd done a thousand times before. Slowly, under the ever-shrinking invisibility cloak, they made their way down to the library. The cloak had served them well over the years but as the boys grew lankier and Peter grew wider it acted more like a well-placed table cloth, carefully draped with legs dangling out the bottom. Usually, when they moved like this it was easier for Peter to assume rodent form and ride on the shoulders of one of the others, with Sirius carrying his clothes. Not tonight though.  
"I'd rather rot in Azkaban than carry anything holding those beans. Show them to Slughorn, I'm sure he'd be fascinated by their toxic properties." 

Eventually they reached the library, making sure to not remove their cloak until absolutely sure there was no sign of Mrs Norris. They rounded a corner and saw soft lamp light illuminating a distant row. Everyone was still, suddenly feeling like they were interrupting a deeply private moment. Sirius felt eyes on his back and pivoted to see the other two boys smiling sheepishly at him.  
"Seriously?" He directed this at James. "Your idea, your responsibility".  
James shrugged, "He listens to you, probably a dog thing".  
Sirius sighed as Peter his a wry smile. He turned and headed towards the glow of Remus's lamp.


	3. Lamp Light

James and Peter were following a little further behind Sirius than he was comfortable with. He wasn't afraid of Remus refusing help, he was expecting it, but he was definitely afraid of invading a safe space. He knew how important those were, especially after a rough night. He edged around the corner slowly, like how one would approach a wounded animal, and jumped out of his skin for the 50th time that night when he was met with a steely and hushed,   
"Hello."  
Sirius stayed where he was, hands behind his back as though he'd simply been caught stealing a parchment.   
"Moony", he whispered with a nervous air. "Don't suppose you could point me to the section on food tra-"  
"Save it Padfoot I know the others are here too. Wormtail! Prongs!" he dared to raise his voice slightly. "Come out from that corner you're not fooling anyone with that cloak anymore."

Sirius and Remus didn't break eye contact as the other two boys shuffled over to the aisle, James folding the cloak under his arm and Peter reaching for yet another nuclear bean. Remus looked terrible. This was normal because the days before the full were closing in, but Sirius still couldn't help but notice just how awful he really looked. His face wasn't exactly pale, it was discoloured. Yellow and purple under eyes contrasted the small pink scratches that were dotted across his face, and his lips were chapped with sores covering the bottom, no doubt from where his teeth were beginning to elongate. He was gaunt, he tended to lose his appetite after a full meaning his eating habits were far from healthy, and the light from the lamp seemed to lift his cheekbones and sink his eyes further back into his skull. Must be a bad moon coming.

"I've told you before," he insisted "you've already done more than enough. I just needed to get some work done, I'll be back in bed by morning"  
"That's not good enough," Sirius interjected, just a little too loud.  
the room went absolutely still. Peter scrunched up his eyes, anticipating the worst. Nobody dared move until the echo of Sirius's voice had completely evaporated. When he was sure no danger was coming, Sirius continued, sure to keep his voice low this time.  
"We all hear you when you sleep. If you're going to wake us up the least we can do is keep each other company until we feel like nodding off again."  
James and Peter nodded in agreement, Remus remained still, not taking his eyes off of Sirius.   
"Yeah because the thought of having a stinking hound, a rat, and a bloody stag climb into bed with me just makes me feel all fuzzy inside." He looked down at his books, trying to continue with his work. Sirius looked back at James for help.

"Moony, please." he hissed.  
Remus slowly looked up from his work, scanning over the three boys. These were his friends, he knew they weren't going to back down.   
"Fine," he snapped "I'll humour you, but I'm not getting under that cloak."


	4. Gentle Waves

With help from the map, they made their way back to the common room. Peter, wary of being caught, insisted on using the cloak. Sirius saw the logic in this but he couldn't ignore the fact that it was also a perfect excuse for the rat to stuff his face with whatever was left of his stupid out of date Bertie Botts. The Fat Lady, as courteous as ever, allowed them in on the promise that they would listen to her sing over the next three lunch breaks.  
"We're going to block the stairs if we sit round there all lunch," James winged.  
"Oh I'm sorry," replied Remus "I didn't realise his lordship was so concerned about the blocking of the corridors".

This jibe harkened back to a prank James and Sirius had decided to play which had backfired horribly. Sirius didn't exactly enjoy the memory; the smell of niffler fur and skunk spray still shrouded his mind every time he made his way over through the fifth-floor corridor.  
They sat in front of the fireplace for a while, long enough for James and Peter to slip back into sleep. Sirius still wasn't in the mood for rest, he was stuck staring at the flames, thinking back to his first time traveling via floo powder. A quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.  
"I know it was James's idea but still.... thanks Padfoot."

Sirius looked over to see Remus hugging his knees around his chest. He looked so small, Sirius noted, like he was lost. The gentle waves of his sandy hair were illuminated by the soft flicker of the slowly dying flames, and the shadow made by his body was long and warped behind him, twisting itself up the side of the wall. Sirius moved over to him, pulling him in for a hug.  
"We're a team, Moony." He spoke softly, but his words carried weight, "Some friend I'd be if I didn't think James was on to something."  
Remus laughed and moved back on to a sofa, ready to sleep.  
"Yeah..."

And everything was quiet again. The fire kept them warm while bitter wind battered the windows, and they sunk deeper and deeper into a long, well deserved rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter was a little rushed so I might revise it later but other than that I'm actually really happy with this fic. it was so nice to just let my brain loose and write, I haven't done that in ages
> 
> edit: WOW I didn't expect people to actually see this haha, thank you so much for the kudos that's so sweet Xx


End file.
